Cooking and enjoying food are popular pastimes. In both domestic and professional settings, “sous-vide” cooking is becoming increasingly common. In “sous-vide” cooking, food is cooked for relatively longer times at relatively lower temperatures, and is generally separated from a cooking medium by packaging in airtight plastic bags. The cooking medium is usually a temperature-controlled water bath or steam oven, which allows for rapid heat transfer between the packaged food and the cooking medium.
In general, “sous-vide” cooking requires that cooking temperatures and durations be controlled precisely to obtain a desired end result—a palatable cooked food that is safe from food-borne bacteria. A difference of only one degree Centigrade (1° C.) in the cooking temperature can have a large effect in the end result. A need for an improved cooking system that makes “sous-vide” cooking easier.